Prefabricated door frame construction



y 0, 1955 F. KULLMER 2,708,013

PREFABRICATED DOOR FRAME CONSTRUCTION Original Filed April 5, 1948 2 Sheet s-Sheet l INVENTOR, FRANK KULLMER.

May 10, 1955 2 Sheets Sheet 2 Original Filed April 5 F fiwlw 4. q 1 g l w mwxi M J w 2 NP 3 A F J F v 1% mm INVENTOR-r FRANK KUL LMER. W ATTORNEY 2,708,013 PREFABRICATED noon FRAME CONSTRUCTION Frank Kullmer, Hillsborough, Calif., assignor to Soule Steel Compan San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of California Original application April 5, 1948, Serial No. 19,149. and this application May 22, 1951, Serial No. 9

2 Claims. Cl. 189-46) This invention relates to a new and improved prefabricated door frame assembly and is a division of my copending application Ser. No. 19,149, filed April 5, 1948, now abandoned.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a novel door frame assembly which may be prefabricated at a factory location for shipment to the sites of building erection. The prefabricated door frame assembly, stud members and other parts to be described herein are especially suited for use in the type of building construction wherein substantially all interior and exterior panels are of uniform width and length, thus permitting erection of wall studs of a standardized size at equidistantly spaced intervals from one another. The assembly of such a structure requires little skill or training, on the part of workmen, and this advantage is particularly valuable in tropical and semi-tropical areas where there may be a scarcity of skilledcarpenters and workmen available at the building site.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a light-weight preformed hollow metallic door frame assembly of considerable structural strength. 7

Another object of this invention is to provide a preformed door frame assembly which is adapted to be attached to the wall structure by means of the clamping action of a stud member comprising two channels disposed back to back.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of reference represent corresponding parts in each of the several views.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view, partly in section, showing fragmentarily wall panels joined to prefabricated stud members and a preformed door frame assembly.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view partly in section, showing an edge of a wall panel joined to a door frame assembly by a stud member.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a stud bolt and illustrating use of an insulating bushing.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, 6 indicates generally panels of preferably heat insulating material having structural strength, out of which exterior and interior walls are constructed. The panels 6 may comprise a solid sheet of a uniform thickness or, obviously, each prefabricated wall panel may consist of a laminated material bonded together to form a panel having a uniform thickness. In erecting a prefabricated building, employing the various partition means shortly to be described, it is contemplated that the exterior walls of the building will first be erected and that a ceiling and roof structure, supported by the exterior walls will then be erected thereupon. As has been pointed out above, an object of this invention is to provide prefabricated stud members and a door frame assembly capable of facilitat ing the accomplishment of this desired purpose.

2,708,013 Patented May 10, 1955 Referring now particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, three general types of stud members are illustrated; namely, a fixed type indicated generally at 8; a wall connecting type indicated generally at 9, and a corner type indicated generally at 10. The preformed door frame assembly, indicated generallyat 11, and the stud members listed above are all elongated metal pieces adapted to be positioned vertically in such manner that their top and bottom ends are respectively rigidly attached to the ceiling and floor of the building. Although the means of attaching the ends of the above named pieces to the floor and ceiling of the building are not illustrated, it is contemplated that ceiling tracks and floor tracks in plumb alignment with one another will be provided and to which thestud members and door jamb pieces may be rigidly attached in a conventional fashion. The floor and ceiling tracks when erected as aforesaid will define substantially the floor plan of the building.

The fixed stud member 8 which is illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises two identical channel pieces indicated generallyv at 12. In operation, a plurality of channel pieces are arranged vertically at preferably uniformly spaced intervals from one another and rigidly attached at their respective ends to the floor and ceiling tracks. Wall panels 6'.may then be positioned vertically so that the side edges of each panel abut against adjacent channel pieces. Un attached channel pieces are then paired with the rigidly attached channel pieces, and the pieces comprising each pair are connected to one another by means of bolts 16. Tightening of bolts 16 causes a clamping action on opposite sides of each wall panel to hold the wall panel in rigid position.

Fig. 3 is illustrative of how clamping flanges 15 of a stud member 8 may be utilized to join an edge of an adjacent wall panel 6 with end pieces 23 of a preformed door frame assembly substantially in the same manner that the stud is used to join two adjacent wall panels together as above described. Coaction between T-shaped door frame supporting clip 28, door frame as sembly 11, bolt 16, and inner nut 32a will be described later in further detail.

The wall connection stud 9 illustrated in Fig. l operates on a clamping principle similar to that described relative to fixed stud 8 above described. However, it will be noted that the wall connection stud 9 is provided with only one pair of oppositely disposed wall clamping flanges and that the side opposite flanges 115 is of a rectangular shape presenting a flat vertical face 17 having apertures 18 through which bolts 19 pass with their longitudinal axes running transversely to the longitudinal axes of the stud bolts 116. The method of erecting the wall connection studs 9 is similar to the method of erecting studs 8 as above described; i. e., a separable channel piece of any coacting pair of channel pieces is first rigidly attached to floor and ceiling tracks, and its complementary channel piece is connected thereto by bolts 116 causing clamping flanges 115 to clamp opposite sides of an adjacent panel firmly in position.

Corner stud 10 is preformed from one integral piece and, therefore, differs from wall connection stud 9, as pointed out above. Corner stud 10 is provided with a rectangular side 21 which forms a square corner at the terminal point of a projecting wall to which it may be attached. Oppositely disposed to end pieces 21 are clamping flanges 215. The webs 113 of the channel shaped portions are provided with a plurality of apertures 22 spaced vertically from one another and arranged for corresponding alignment with apertures 18 provided in the flat face 17 of wall connection stud 9. Bolts 19 are inserted through apertures 18 and 22 to form a rigid connection between wall connection stud 9 and corner stud 10. It is apparent that tightening of bolts 19 will cause flanges 215 to be drawn together to exert a clamping action upon piece 23 of the door frame assembly 11.

Door frame assembly 11 comprises, in addition to end pieces 23, above identified, oppositely disposed wing pieces 24, jam surfaces 20, and a door stop 25. As noted above, frame assembly 11 is clamped to corner stud by action of flanges 215 provided on the latter piece.

Two or more hinges, indicated generally at 26, may be attached to the door frame assembly as by bolting or welding or the like to support a door indicated at 27 which is adapted to swing open in the direction of arrow A, and to abut against door stops 25 when fully closed.

In order to make the door frame assembly a more rigid structure to withstand the movement of the door, a plurality (preferably three) of identical supporting clips 28 may be provided horizontally interiorly of the door frame assembly. Clips 28 are substantially T-shaped, and the stem 29 of each T-shaped clip is provided along one edge thereof with an upwardly extending flange 31 as clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. The transverse portions 30 of clips 28 correspond substantially in size and shape to the interior wall surface of wings 24, and thus, portions 30 snugly engage the interior surfaces of wings 24 when the clips are properly positioned within the frame assembly. Flange 31 has an aperture adapted to align with apertures 18 and 22 and bolt 19 in the arrangement of parts shown in Fig. 2, and with bolt 16 in the arrangement of parts illustrated in Fig. 3. Clip 28 is retained in position by action of an inner nut 32 or 32a provided on bolts 19 or 16, respectively, depending on whether the frame assembly 11 is employed in combination with the arrangement of parts shown in Fig. 1 or those shown in Fig. 3.

An advantage of the present invention lies in the fact that the Webs of the channel pieces, comprising the studs 8, are spaced from one another to form an air pocket or space which serves to insulate the interior of a building from exterior heat or cold. The stud bolts 116 may be provided with bushings 301, formed of suitable insulating material such as rubber, fiber, or the like, in order to prevent the bolts from acting as temperature transmission elements (Fig. 4). Obviously, the bolt may be provided with a bushing 301 adjacent to the head or nut end thereof, or, as indicated in Fig. 4, a bushing element may be provided at both ends thereof.

Although the present invention some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be made within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a prefabricated metallic vertical stud comprising a pair of spaced, oppositely disposed clamping flanges, means comprising a bolt extending transversely through said stud for tightening said clamping flanges toward one another, a preformed door frame assembly comprising a hollow metallic body having oppositely disposed wing pieces extending parallel to said bolt and end pieces extending rearwardly perpendicular to said wing pieces and said bolt, said end pieces of said door frame disposed and clamped between said clamping flanges of said stud, a support clip comprising a T- shaped metal body, the transverse portions of said T- shaped body corresponding substantially in size and shape to the interior Wall surfaces of said wing pieces, said clip disposed interiorly of said hollow metallic body with said transverse portions engaging the interior wall surfacesof said wing pieces and with the stem of said clip projected outwardly between said end pieces of said door frame into the interior of said stud, and means located interiorly of said stud rigidly afiixing the projected end of the stem of said clip to said stud.

2. A construction according to claim 1 and wherein said last named means comprises said bolt and a nut provided thereon interiorly of said stud engaging and securing a marginal flange provided on the side of the stem of said T-shaped body.

has been described in References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,180,314 Olberg Apr. 25, 1916 1,443,549 Shurman Jan. 30, 1923 1,716,624 Dawson June 11, 1929 1,981,538 Balch et a1 Nov. 24, 1934 2,128,797 Bohnsack Aug. 30, 1938 2,363,164 Waller Nov. 21, 1944 

